the science of brain fog: 4 ways to boost your mind’s clarity (mini podcast episode)
Ever feel like your brain's in a fog? Like something is off and your brain is not firing on all cylinders? This is something I come across a lot when working with clients, and particularly in doing brain maps. What might be underlying our brain fog, and importantly, what can we do about it? Mindset is important. Our belief in our ability to change our brain is a key to actually changing our behaviors because it changes WHAT we notice and HOW we interpret what we notice. BUT… if we don't set the stage with certain aspects of our life and certain conditions, it can make that change a lot more difficult. If we're not complementing our mindset with other aspects of life, it just robs our brain body system of the resources it needs to create change and to do what it needs to do. Please note: None of the suggestions in this article are intended as medical advice. If you're concerned about your brain health, please talk to your doctor. Why Brain Fog Happens There are a few things that I see contributing to brain fog based on self-report measures and brain maps I have seen. One is an imbalance of brainwaves. If you're feeling foggy, it's possible that you have too much slow-wave activity (like theta waves) and not enough fast-wave activity. The theta brainwave is a slow wave, and is related to a state of sleepiness - it’s the state we’re in right before we drift off to sleep. It’s not a ‘bad’ brainwave - it is also related to deep states of meditation, and creativity and daydreaming...but if we are trying to learn or pay attention, it’s not ideal to feel like we are in a fog or drifting off. There are four things that can be helpful for us to explore if we want to accelerate desired changes in our brain body system. There are many others, but i’ll just cover four that come up in terms of patterns I see in brain maps and what people self-report from the surveys they answer in conjunction with the brain maps. Listen to this article as a mini episode on: Spotify Apple Podcasts or directly on this media player: What and when you eat. When I worked as a school and family counselor, I was often asked to work with students who were falling asleep, who were very drowsy. One of the first things I always asked was what they had for breakfast that day. Too many times, the answer was nothing or sugary cereal or maybe a soda. And that was hours before the lunch period. Making a small adjustment such as adding a bit more protein and hydration, and lowering processed food and sugar made a big difference in the behaviors and mental stamina of those students. I can say that for me, personally, anything with a lot of sugar, processed food, can really deplete my energy and mental stamina. Having too many sugars or carbs especially in the morning results in feelings of brain fog, and having protein especially early in the day helps sustain better mental clarity and energy. I’m also a fan of Time-Restricted Eating (also known as intermittent fasting). I find that this helps me have my highest levels of mental clarity in the morning. See also: UC San Diego research on time-restricted eating in humans , Time Restricted Eating and Gene Expression